The Betrayer and the Brother
by ERILEV
Summary: If you don't r&r I'm gonna destroy you! This is KagSess, no lemon, but maybe some mushy romance. Please review when you read!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! if you come across any errors, or have any good ideas that I could integrate into my story, could you send them to me. or post on my forum, which is called "**Put yourself in my story!",** if they are good, I will reply and discuss it with you.**

**Chapter 1**

The morning sun was just beginning to rise, and the fiery orb bathed everything in am orange glow. The group were just waking from their sleep, opening their eyes to the cheerful sound of a robin's call. To any who might happen upon the band of travellers, the group was one to be avoided. It was a strange thing indeed to see a oddly dressed miko travelling with a young half demon half demon, a demon slayer, a monk, a fire cat, and a fox demon child. On this particular occasion, it was only Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku. Shippo and Kilala were at Keaede's village recovering from an injury they both had received when a strong demon had hurled a gigantic boulder at them. Inuyasha had slain the demon with his wind scar, but not in time to protect the smaller companions.

"Good morning!" Kagome called from her sleeping bag. She extended her arms and stretched, making her back crack in the process. _I should be used to sleeping on the hard ground, _she thought to herself, _but I just can't get the kinks out of my poor back every morning. _She looked at Inuyasha's still unmoving form, deciding not to let him sleep in today. Crawling over to him, she put her face close to ear.

"**Inuyasha! Wake up!**" she yelled. Her plot worked, as the sleeping dog demon was on his feet in a millisecond, his powerful sword already half drawn.

"Sheesh, Kagome! What'd you go an' do that for?" The grumpy Hanyou hollered at her as he put the Tetsusaiga away. The sword was his most prised possession, and on the few occasions when it was stolen, he flew into a blind rage. The sword also helped him control his evil demon side that turned him into a blood thirsty monster. During these rampages, he had brutally slaughtered whole families of people, and had afterwards been unable to forgive himself for losing control. He had even tried to kill Kagome a couple of times, though she did not hold him responsible.

"It's time to get up, unless you would rather sleep through breakfeast," the sly girl answered him. She knew she had won when he turned on his heel and stomped off, grumbling to himself. Kagome was constantly telling him to drop that habit, but he didn't listen like a 'good dog' as she so crudely put it. Her own thoughts were interrupted when she saw Sango and Miroku both sit up at the same time. Sango's hair was messy, and from the sweat on her brow it looked like she had had one of her constant nightmares of her brother. Miroku, on the other hand, looked neat and tidy as usual, with his short ponytail to his covered hand that housed his endless wind tunnel. She had tried to explain about Quantum singularities that she had read about, but his feudal mind could not grasp the complex concepts of her own era. She said good morning to both as she began preparing their meal. Normally, Sango or Miroku cooked, but today she was cooking pancakes from her own time.

"Mmm, that smells wonderful, Kagome," Sango complemented as she smelled the wafting aroma of the food. It was of blueberries, a recipe that kagome's own mother had made.

"Thanks," Kagome answered, and piled some syrup on Sango's plate for her. She dished out Miroku's next, and was greeted with a happy laugh.

"My, Kagome, what is all this? Sango usually does the cooking, although your meals are a fine change." He realized what would come as soon as the careless words left his mouth.

Sango growled at him menacingly, "What is wrong with my food? You seem to have no trouble eating it _all_!"

Miroku scratched the back of his head for a moment before replying, "I didn't mean that. I only meant that a little variety is nice once in a while." He laughed nervously as Sango merely turned her back with a loud 'hm!'. _Oh, well. She can't stay mad for ever…can she? _Miroku thought. Inwardly he sighed, knowing that this day would be very boring for him without Sango talking. He didn't mind talking to Kagome, but he would rather talk to Sango. She seemed a lot more interesting. "By the way, Kagome, where is Inuyasha?" Miroku asked curiously.

"I don't kn….look!" Kagome cried, pointing up towards the sky.

All three stared intently, but not one of them was prepared for the sudden darkening of the sky as hundreds of demons suddenly flew toward them.

Sango immediately removed her casual clothes, revealing her demon hide slayer uniform, while Miroku ran to his stuff and picked up his staff. The twostarted running towards the oncoming cloud of beasts, yelling back, "Kagome, Run! We can't fight all of these demons with you here and Inuyasha gone!"

Kagome understood what they were saying and grabbed up her bow and arrows while she was running past them. She knew that the two experienced fighters could not stay focused if they were worrying about her, so she sprinted as fast as she could into the forest away from the demons.

* * *

Inuyasha huffed as he left Kagome to her cooking. She always woke him up, even though there was no need. His demon abilities included being able to go for days without food, although he liked to eat that ramen stuff that Kagome brought from her own time. He stopped as a familiar, and much hated scent came to his nose. He recognised it immediately and took off, leaping over great distances. His way of jumping made it easier to travel farther at better speeds. He landed lightly on his feet and took off, running faster than any human. His robe caught on the branches, but the robe of the fire rat was made of hard material. It was fireproof, and was almost impossible to tear without some sort of knife. He gritted his teeth as he crashed through a wall of thorn bushes, but soon realized that the huge trees were thinning out to become old, gnarled, and rotting. He drew his Tetsusaiga as he neared the source of the stench, and soon found himself at the edge of a clearing in the dead forest around him. Brandishing his mighty sword in front of him, he leapt and flew into the open space. 

"Naraku!" he screamed, landing ten feet away from the imitation demon. Naraku had been human once, but had given his broken body to some demons in exchange for their power.

"Ah, Inuyasha. I was wondering when you would show up to try and kill me." He said with an amused smirk. Inuyasha growled at this, for he had almost succeeded in destroying him at their last meeting when he had used his red Tetsusaiga to break open the evil barrier surrounding his nemesis.

"Naraku, you bastard! I'm going to kill you once and for all!"

Naraku laughed, stunning Inuyasha before speaking again, "You fool. I am complete now, there is nothing you can do to harm me!" As he said this, his cloak exploded into motion as numerous tentacles shot out from his body and lunged for the half demon. His attack was struck back as Inuyasha swiped horizontally in front of him and a mass of writhing limbs fell to the earth. Naraku, however, seemed unfazed as the arms simply re-grew. He was testing his true form, which looked like he always did, with the only difference being he had a full body now, and he was more powerful.

Inuyasha grinned as Naraku retreated a few steps, and drove on. He followed through fromhis slash with a 'wind scar', and a fiery trail spread from his sword . After the energy had vanished, four man-sized trenches had been dug into the earth before him, all the way to Naraku. The former Onigumo seemed to have taken the attack, but remained in one piece. To the frustration of Inuyasha, he actually seemed amused.

"Naraku! I'm going to kill you!" Inuyasha screamed as he ran forward. He slashed down as hard as he could, and was surprised when there was o contact. His sword had sliced right through the middle of his adversary, but had done little damage! "Damn you Naraku," Inuyasha spat as he prepared to strike again. He appeared calm, but his mind was racing. _how come I can't hit him? That last one went right through him, yet he didn't even fall apart. It should have shredded him…I think I'm in for a long fight._ Even as he thought this, Naraku lunged again.

"Inuyasha, you fool! Why don't you attack me? Do you finally see why you can not win?" He laughed as they came together, the force of the meeting of two such opponents sent a shockwave rolling outward from them. Again and again the Tetsusaiga met with Naraku's arms, many of which now had sharp blades or claws on the ends, and each time his sword was stopped in place as it connected. So far, Naraku had been strictly fighting defensively, only attacking to interrupt the hanyou's thoughts, but now he struck. Lightning fast, one of his left arms darted in, slicing a wide line across Inuyasha's arm.

Inuyasha jumped back in surprise, and quickly came to the conclusion that he was having a hard time holding up his sword. He gritted his teeth and switched his weight to balance the sword out more evenly, and attacked again. This time he deceitfully left openings that Naraku could penetrate, but when the predicted attack came, he turned around and cut the appendage off at the shoulder. Naraku was faster though, and even as his arm was re-growing, he swung his other ones in a powerful clubbing move that sent the unsuspecting half demon flying through the air.

Inuyasha gasped as he flew backwards into a tree before hitting the ground. The impact jarred his sword from his hands, and it fell just out of reach, causing it to transform back into it's regular form.Desperately he tried to grasp it, afraid that his demon blood might take over and destroy his soul, but all thoughts left his mind as Naraku's full six hundred pounds slammed into his chest. For a moment the weight was supported, but after that split second was over, there was a loud cracking of bone as his ribs shattered.

Inuyasha choked as all the air was forced out of him, and he coughed up blood. When he tried to move, his limbs did not work, and he seemed to have no movement of his neck. Closing his eyes, he awaited the killing blow, realizing that on the upside of his death, he would at last be with Kikyo. He thought he had lost consiousness when heheard her voice.

"Inuyasha… Naraku, you promised that you wouldn't kill him!" she scolded at the demon. "how am I supposed to get you the girl when you kill your end of the bargain?"

Inuyasha was pondering this turn of events in his head, when Naraku spoke, "Inuyasha. I have a deal to make with you."

Before he could continue, Inuyasha cut him off. "I will never help you!"

Kikyo shushed him, "Hear what he has to say first."

Naraku went on, saying, "I want you to help me get the remaining jewel shards from the girl, or bring the girl to me. Even as we speak, my servants are attacking the monk and the demon slayer, who will die. Kagura is on her way to intercept Kagome, while you will be there to trick her into letting her defences down. In return for your treachery, I will grant Kikyo another mortal life. I will also heal your current wounds for you." He said the last part with almost regret.

"Inuyasha," Kikyo pleaded, "I want to spend my life with you. I know you love me over her, and I will get you whether you help me or not. I just thought you would want an easy way to be with me."

Inuyasha was already deciding. "Kikyo, my love, I will do it for you, although," he turned his eyes to his hated enemy, "Kagome is not to be hurt. She is still my friend."

Naraku nodded and stepped forward. He placed his hand over Inuyasha's body, and a black light flowed into it. Inuyasha felt his bones knitting back together, and soon he was able to rise. With a look of hatred at Naraku, he retrieved his Tetsusaiga and went toward the spot where Naraku had pointed

* * *

The trees grabbed at her as she ran, trying to escape the pursuing demons. Her long black hair snagged in the branches of an oak, and she grimaced as she tore free, pulling out some of the fine strands by the root. She ignored the brief pain and kept running, hoping that Inuyasha would find her. As she turned down a path, her foot caught in a tree root, and she fell. Hard. She lay on the ground in a daze, getting to her feet only when the growls of the demons became louder. Her knees were scratched and bleeding, and her hands were raw from the hard dirt. She forced her stiff legs to move, fighting the exhaustion that threatened to overcome her, even in her frightened state. 

The tired and bloody priestess bolted down the road, only to stare in horror as she found herself in the middle of a field. Standing in the middle of the open space was Kagura, and she had a feeling that Kohaku would be about somewhere close by.

"Ah, dear Kagome. My master, Naraku, bids you come with me. I promise, you will remain unhurt, and your pathetic friends will live if you cooperate." The wind sorceress said, trying to sound inviting, but failing terribly.

"I will never go with you, you witch! Inuyasha will kill you when he gets here." Kagome spat, trying to wipe the smug grin off of the evil witch's face. To her astonishment, the smile only grew.

"I doubt very much if you'll even see him again. I'm afraid he has chosen Kikyo, and gave Naraku permission to have you." Kagura watched in satisfaction as the hope faded from Kagome's pretty brown eyes.

As if on queue, Inuyasha appeared, leaping into the field. He growled when he saw Kagura, but was silenced when Kikyo walked out of the trees and shook her head. Kagome couldn't believe that Inuyasha had betrayed her.

"Inuyasha…" she whispered faintly, "How could you?" Before he could answer her heart wrenching question, Kagura slipped over, silent as the wind, and jabbed a sharp needle into Kagome's neck. The needle was coated in a neutralizing poison, and the weakened miko fell unconscious immediately. Normally the strong willed girl could have fought the poison, but her soul had given up fighting, and she had succumbed easily. Kagura scooped her up and pulled out her feather hairpin. Jumping into the air, the small feather exploded to many hundred times its regular size, and the two flew away on it.

"Inuyasha, you have made a good choice," Kikyo murmured in his ear. She wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him close. "Now we can be together, like we had planned."

Inuyasha drew in the soft flowery scent of his love. "But did you hear how heartbroken she sounded…."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the forest, the inexhaustible force of demons came on clashing head to head with the two fighters. Miroku and Sango were killing them by the hundreds, and yet they still attacked. The skilled demon slayer had made an antidote for Miroku some days before, and it had allowed him to destroy maybe ten thousand demons with his wind tunnel before the poisoned insects got to him. 

"Sango! I don't know how much longer I can stand up to this poison." Miroku yelled as he cut a long, snakelike demon in two. "And where do you think Inuyasha is?"

"Hang in there Miroku, We can hold out a little long…" her voice faded away as the demons turned and swarmed Miroku. She cried out as hundreds of demons rushed him, and he was lost from her sight. Her eyes were instead drawn to her new attacker. "Kohaku…"

"I don't know how you know my name, but Naraku has instructed that I kill you," the young demon slayer responded with his blank eyes. He rushed at her, swinging his scythe an a chain, and launched the sharp blade at his forgotten sister. The impact was a dull thud as Sango deflected it with her own weapon, and ran towards him. She drew her sword and prepared for hand to hand combat, and he pulled back his long chain. They clashed together, brother and sister, one trying to kill, the other to disarm. Neither one saw the flash of death, and both opponents found themselves at a loss for words as both of their arms swept across, slashing at the exposed throat.

Sango gurgled as the blood spurted and flowed out of her slashed neck, pouring onto her hands and her brother. He didn't seem to notice as his blood similarly gushed, from a similar wound. Sango felt a tear fall from her eyes as the darkness crept around her, and she whispered in Kohaku's ear. "I'm glad we could die together, my brother…" both bodies slumped to the ground, dead, as she finished her last words.

Miroku saw them fall, and was blinded by rage as he realized that he and Sango would never be together. He forgot about the pain of his many wounds, the pain of losing his love and all his friends, and simply fell into the dismay that wrapped around his heart. Dropping his staff, he pulled the bandage from around his cursed hand, and prepared to fight to his death. The trees bent towards him as the wind tunnel ripped forth from his hand, dragging all of the demons into it's depths. He didn't even feel the usual pain as Naraku's poisonous insects entered with them, mere wishing for all of his enemies to die. He noticed that his wind tunnel was growing, getting larger and stronger, and had a fleeting thought of regret at how close they had come to killing Naraku, but cleared his mind. The demons were getting less numerous now, and miroku tightened his resolve. At last, as the final hundred demons were entering the black pit, it reached the edge of his hand.

He yelled out, "Now we can be together Sango!" These words had barely left his lips when there was a sickening sound of crunching bones as the monk simply inverted into his own hand. The leaves on the trees all came flying towards the small hole as there was a huge sucking of air. The wind tunnel shrunk and imploded, followed by a destructing wave of energy that cleared out the trees within a hundred foot radius of the center. The wave was followed by an ear shattering roar as the sound caught up with the energy, and a slight rumble as the outward force from the transformation of the wind tunnel into nothing blasted a gigantic crater, sending piles of dirt and debris up into the sky.

* * *

In her unconscious form, Kagome felt her soul rip even more as her friends died, and she inwardly wept, letting out a cry of grief that reverberated to her very core. 

Kagura had no idea, and probably would not care, at the pain that the woman felt.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome awoke with a start, startled from her sleep by a drop of water falling on her head. The first things to come to her were her memories. She gasped as the pain came flooding back, and she felt as if her heart was in her throat, blocking her breath. She inhaled deeply for a few moments, and regained her composure enough to look around.

She was in a prison, that much was obvious. The bare rock walls suggested that she was deep under ground, and the floor was rough and uneven. Her cell was the only one, but it was rather large. She could certainly move around. Outside her bars she could see a long, winding stairway, beside which a demon guard sat snoring at a desk. His pig shaped face lay in a pool of drool, and Kagome scrunched up her face in disgust. Other than those things, the only other point of interest was a large trap door in the corner of the room, across from the desk.

She was about to call out to the guard, but a small groan silenced her. She strained her ears to discover the source, and was shocked to find it coming from a small girl. The girl lay limply in a shadowy corner, and it looked like she had a broken arm. The dark haired preistess ran over to see if she was conscious, and to her surprise, she recognised her!

"Rin! Oh my God, how did you get here?" She cradled the whimpering girl in her arms, and checked her for more injuries. Luckily, the arm was the only problem. It was horribly twisted, and the elbow was bent inwards. It also looked as if dislocated from the shoulder. "Oh, you poor girl. Come over here into the torch light," she commanded softly, and gently ushered the girl out of the dark.

The weakened child looked at her, and a faint smile formed on her lips. "You're Kagome! I know you from that time you saved me, remember?" After saying this, she coughed hard, and her hand came away with blood.

"Shhh...don't talk, I'll ask the guard for some medicine and a splint for you." She turned and went to the bars of the jail. "**Hey! **Guard! You can get up and get me a splint right now!" she demanded.

The pig demon started, and fell uncerimoniously out of his chair. He leaped to his feet, aware that the mistake of sleeping might well cost him his life, and was relieved to see it was not the case. He sneered at the girl before answering, "I don't take orders from you, wench!"

Before Kagome could scream at him for being so heartless, a smooth voice came from the blackness of the corner. "Do a the girl says, or I will have you eaten by one of my pets." Both Kagome and the guard recognised the voice, and the trembling pig turned and fled up the stairs.

"Naraku..." Kagome spat. She was surprised at her own voice, for it seemed to be someone else's. She sounded bitter, as if she was full of hate, and indeed she was. This was, after all, the one who had killed her friends and kidnapped her.

"Kagome...I hope you find your room to be of sufficient satisfaction? I had it made special for you."

"You won't get away with this!" Kagome yelled at him, causing him to laugh. his evil laughter only enraged her more, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Why is this girl here? You do know that Sesshomaru will come for her. If you remember, he almost killed you before, but you got away while he fought his brother. You won't escape this time!" She paused to catch her breath after her outburst, and he spoke.

"My dear girl, that is what I have planned. Sesshomaru will come to reclaim his ward, and I will absorb him!" His evil laughter after this statement echoed as he faded into the shadows.

Kagome yelled at him through the darkness, "He is too strong for you, Naraku!" Her voice fell to a bare whisper, "He has to be."

"Don't worry, Kagome. My lord Sesshomaru will come for me. He always comes for me." Before Kagome could respond, there was a loud bang as the pig faced guard tossed some supplies through the bars of the cell.

"You are lucky my master wants you alive, or else I would eat you, little girls!" he snarled. Kagome merely stuck her tongue out at him, but retracted it instantly as the demon licked his lips hungrily. She turned to the girl beside her, who had fallen silent.

"Don't worry Rin, I'll fix you up and protect you." She said this even as her mind was ticking away._ I must be of some use to Naraku, or else I would be dead. He must want me to find the jewel shards for him, but I won't do it! I am not a trinket to be used by anyone at their convenience! I'll be damned if I'm not gonna fight this evil bastard._ Her mind made up, Kagome decided she would try to focus and figure out some way to escape with Rin.

* * *

Jaken dove out of the way as a viscous slash of energy tore into the ground beside him, sending dirt and brocken rocks flying. He looked at his master in fear, wondering if he was actually going to die this time. Sesshomaru was pissed, his eyes glowing red and his fury radiating around him. he let out a loud growl and turned to drive his clawed fist into the cliff wall, but when his punch conected, there was very little resistance as the rock instantly blew apart, disintegrated into a fine powder by the blow. 

The main reason for his anger and loss of control was not of Jaken's doing, but he was the only one who happened to be near at this particular moment. Naraku had atacked while Sesshomaru was sleeping, acompanied by the priestess, Kikyo. Kikyo had tried to purify him as he lay, but he had sensed her powers at the last moment, and had blocked her with his sword. While he had been distracted, Naraku's reincarnations had kidnapped his young ward, Rin, to whom Sesshomaru had grown fond of. Of course, no one would ever know about it. He liked Rin for the way that she liked him for him, not for his power or out of fear. He had given her plenty of opportunities to return to the humans, but she willingly followed him around Japan.

"Master, please don't be angry with me!We must focus on trying to get Rin back!" Jaken squealed in fear as the taiyoukai turned on him, but was relieved to see that his lord's eyes were returning to their golden state.

Sesshomaru took a deep breath, and spoke in a calm voice. "Jaken."

"Yes, my lord?" he asked.

"Get Ah-Un, and return to my castle. I will find this Naraku, and I will kill him." Seshomaru growled at the thought, his claws flexing in anticipation. Withought saying another word, he leapt into the air, and flew off into the clouds. Jaken sighed and went to follow his orders, knowing how close he had come this time.

* * *

Sesshomaru took a deep breath as the wind blew past him, causing his silver hair to billow out behind him.he was sitting crosslegged on his transportation cloud, contemplating his next move. _I will search out someone who knows of or is looking for Naraku. Not Inuyasha... that wolf demon. Yes, he would know where to find him. _Sesshomaru was refering to Kouga of course, but he had never cared to learn his name. On the few occasions when they had met, the two had given each other a grudging respect. More of it came from Kouga himself, but Sesshomaru understood that the wolf had to have been semi-intelligent, for he never attacked him. He had stated in plain hearing to his servants that they had no reason to fight each other. As of yet, that had been true. 

Sesshomaru was yanked out of his thoughts be the smell of blood, and flew closer to the ground. Dropping and landing lightly on his feet, he sniffed the air intently. His gaze narrowed as he caught Naraku's scent, but also he noticed the smell of Inuyasha's gang. He looked around at the carnage, and was not surprised that his little brother's friends had managed to kill thousands of demons.

He was even less surprised to find the body of the demonslayer, leaning beside the boy who had tried to kill Rin. He smiled in satisfaction that he had finally been killed. A large whole with debris all around it told the demon lord's mind that this is where the monk had died trying to save the demonslayer. His smirk faded as he came upon the small cabin, now no more than a pile of planks and wooden beams, and smelled Inuyasha and that priestess. Glancing at the marks, Kagome had run off into the forest, and Inuyasha had gone in the opposite direction.

Seshomaru came to his hypothesis quickly, and spoke aloud to himself. "Ah, Inuyasha. you have finally chosen to be with that dead preistess, instead of the young girl. Not like it was hard, was it? You never did keep any good friends for very long." His words caused his own mind to work, and he discovered that he himself had a hard time with friends. Something he would change. He stood quietly for a while, before returning to the air. He remained motionless for the rest of his ride, travelling in the direction that the demon army had come from.

* * *

Inuyasha and Kikyo walked side by side, enjoying each other's presence. Kikyo had fully brainwashed him, although he put up little resistance as she slowly caused him to forget his friends. it had been three days since his betrayal, and he was as happy as he had been when Kikyo was alive. Kikyo smirked, realizing how ironic it was that she had been the one to orchestrate all of the chaos required to get Inuyasha back. 

"We should go somewhere and build a house," she murmered in his ear. He barely acknowledged her, but merely stared ahead.

"Kikyo... I feel as if there was someone I was forgetting, but I can't remember who. This person was close to me, but I can not picture her face. Do you know anyone it might be?" He rubbed his head in frustration, letting out a long sigh.

"Forget everyone else. I'm the only one that you need to be with." She purred,"Don't tell me you'd rather be with another. I couldn't bear it..." Her voice fell, and she lowered her head in feigned sadness.

"Of course not Kikyo! I would never leave you." Inuyasha quickly assured her. He put his arms around her and together they continued their liesurely stroll. He thought for a moment before speaking again, "Kikyo? How would you like it if I was human? I could get the jewel and become like you, you know." He gazed into her dark brown eyes hesitantly.

"Inuyasha, you are so sweet. I think it's a good idea."

"Alright my love, I will get the shards. We must remember that Naraku has some too, so he will get in our way," the half demon remarked.

Kikyo smirked, "My dear, we don't need him now, and we can remove him from our way if need be." I have a few shards in a sacred cave not far from here, so let us go now, okay?

"Yes, let us go."

* * *

Sesshomaru stepped over a fallen log gracefully, the only sound of his presence the gentle rustling of leaves and the swish of his robes as he walked below an overhanging cliff. He came to abrupt stop as his nose caught his most hated scent: Naraku. If he could smell hi hated enemy, then that meant that his barrier was gone! He felt his body tense with anticipation of the battle, although his outward looks showed no change, and he strode off at a brisk pace in the direction he thought the horrid odour of the miasma was coming from. 


	3. Chapter 3

The purple miasma that seemed to permeate everything simply wafted by him as he stood on the cliff, overlooking a gigantic castle that emanated a sense of evil and danger. The Demon Lord stood unfazed by it though, and merely calculated his angle of attack. After contemplation for but a moment, he flew silently down to the base of the wall.

There were some guards posted, but the Taiyoukai simply slit their throat with his claws as he passed, quiet as a shadow. He jumped up to the top of a wall and announced his presence, calling out to Naraku.

"Naraku, come out and fight me. I will destroy you no matter how long you hide, and if you would be so gracious as to merely return the girl and save me the time to look for her, I will cut you apart and be done with it." He waited a long moment, and growled as his challenge went unanswered. _If Naraku thinks I will leave if I think he is not here, then he is mistaken. I will tear his castle apart with my bare hands! _

As he said thought he was hit by a strong blast of wind from the shadowy corner of the courtyard. His fighting instincts kicked in and he dropped to the left, then he snapped back to the right as a series of blades flew past him, none even reaching the mark. He turned to see Kagura, the wind sorceress, standing half in the shadows. He smirked at the irony of her life, remembering how much she hated her master. She had come to him, pleading for him to kill Naraku in exchange for two jewel shards. He had refused._ And now, she is forced to fight me, how pathetic._

He suddenly burst into action, moving so fast that Kagura could only see the fading image of his last movement. She was puzzled about his current location until she felt a tremendous blow contact her chest. She flew through the air, only to crash through the wall of the building. The roof collapsed, and smoke billowed out into the courtyard.

Sesshomaru returned to his position on the wall. He tuned his senses around him to look for any hidden enemies, and heard nothing. His powerful ears caught something then, and he recognized it. To a human, it might have been the simple whisper of the wind, but to the demon lord's precise hearing, he identified it as Inuyasha's robe. It was still off in the distance, and he wondered why Inuyasha would be coming here. It was of no consequence, Naraku would be long dead by then. He came out of his thoughts as the door of the palace burst and out came Naraku.

"Sesshomaru, I was just wondering if you had given up, or had been killed by some demon. It took a while to get here, even after I left all those trails for you to follow." He chuckled.

The emotionless face of the demon lord changed to one of pure rage as he almost lost control of his anger. His eyes glowed crimson, and he started to grow. He regained control in time to stop himself from transforming into his demon form, for it prevented the use of his sword. "Naraku," he said at length,"I will destroy you."

Withought waiting for a reply, he sprang from his position, drawing Tokijin and releasing a wave of blue energy at the demon wanna-be. Naraku took the blast, and it blew him to pieces. These, though, simply re-attached to him, and he quickly regenerated. His laughter was followed by a mass of claws as he went on the offensive. Sesshomaru had to dodge as he was slashed at from all angles, but none of the limbs could touch him. He cut his way through a wall of writhing arms, and cut Naraku to pieces again. This time, only part of Naraku regenerated. His body seemed to melt in on itself, and he became a giant spider, with the body of Onigumo.

Sesshomaru seemed unfazed by the change, and merely shrugged. His sword came up and he again blasted the foolish man.

* * *

Kagome rose, brushing herself off, and choked on the dust now filling the room. She found that Rin had escaped more injury, and looked at the cause of the cloud. Part of the floor had collapsed, and she guessed from the way the ground kept shaking that there was a battle outside. Her eyes widened at the sight of a body, and she instantly knew that Kagura was dead. The sorceress was almost torn in half, sliced by a large piece of stone that had fallen and ground her into the floor of the dungeon. 

She was elated at her luck to see that parts of the cell bars were damaged, and the gate was hanging twisted on its hinges. She quickly gathered Rin into her arms, waking the girl.

"Kagome, what has happed here?" She asked in her sweet little voice.

"I think there is fighting outside, but I don't know who it is." The light that came into the girl's face suggested that she knew exactly who it was, but Kagome wouldn't dare to hope. "We need to focus on getting up. Can you walk alright? We need to climb the debris, I see a spot where we can do it quite easily."

"I think I can walk, Kagome," Rin replied, and the sore miko put her on the ground.

"Alright, come then." They started to make their way up the broken building. The going was slow and dangerous as the girls crawled up the sharp wood and stone. Bits of the floor crumbled when they stepped on them, and twice Rin almost fell, but Kagome grabbed her wrist at the last second to help her climb.

At last they made it to the top of the pile, and quickly walked down the hall. They passed what seemed to be a guard room, and Kagome decided that she needed a weapon. Upon entering the room, she retrieved a strong bow, and a full quiver of arrows. She returned to Rin, and hand in hand, they walked on. The travelled down the hall and turned a corner, only to see a bunch of armed guards coming their way. She stopped abruptly and was about to turn back before they noticed her, when one of the pig faced demons yelled at his companions to attack. She turned and ran for it, but crashed right into the solid chest of another demon.

This one was different though. For one thing he wasn't a boar demon, or any other kind of thing like that. Kagome had never seen a demon like him before. He was short, about five feet, with short silver hair. His clothes complemented his hair, for he wore black pants that reminded her of Inuyasha's, and what looked to be a shirt of black chain mail. The chain shirt made not a sound as he moved past her with amazing speed. He went to lift the huge mace from his back, but declined the notion, choosing instead to merely lash out with his fists. His small but muscular arms seemed to be quite strong to Kagome as she watched the first of the guards go flying through the weak wooden wall.

The rest of the guards rushed on, not realizing the danger of this new foe. The first two went down with two lightening fast blows, while the mysterious demon jump kicked the third, then the fourth in the face. The last one was a bit more hesitant to come on, but he wasn't going to wait. With a loud growl, he slugged it in the chest, and for a moment the priestess saw something. It seemed to outline his arm for but a split second. it looked like a similar arm of the one that had moved, but was bigger, and totally black in colour. The pig howled in pain as all of his ribs broke, and his left lung collapsed. He fell the floor, unable to breathe, and coughed blood all over the floor. The stranger turned and spoke then, before Kagome could escape with Rin.

"That was too easy. Would either of you be able to tell me where to find a good fight?" He laughed a deep throaty laugh, and stepped closer to the girls.

Rin was unafraid of him as Kagome moved away, and she said, " My lord Sesshomaru will fight you, he's the strongest demon ever!" She glared at him, as if to challenge the statement.

"Girl, you certainly place alot of trust in this Sesshomaru fellow, for surely you would not speak otherwise. I myself have fought him before, and have beaten him almost to death on many occasions." He said this so matter-of-factly that Rin almost lost faith. She was insistent though.

"You're lying! My Lord has never been beaten. The only time was when that nasty Inuysahsa cut off his arm." She fell silent, realizing that Kagome was still retreating down the hall, notching an arrow to her bow. She took aim, and spoke."Who are you, and what are you doing here? If you work for Naraku, I'm gonna shoot!" The steel in her voice left him no doubt.

"My girl, Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sintomaru. And I am Sesshomaru's younger cousin."

* * *

Inuyasha crept the rest of the way to the castle, not making any sound. Naraku's shouting foretold of an outcome fo the battle favourable to him. Kikyo, on the other hand, could not stand for Naraku to die, so had instructed Inuyasha to intervene, so he was intervening. As he crawled up over the wall, he spotted Sesshomaru standing above Naraku, who was literally in peices. 

He slid down to the other side and prepared to strike.

* * *

Sesshomaru smirked at the helpless Naraku at his feet. the demon had rebuilt himself so many times, and now he had run out of energy in his exhaustion. However, the constant amounts of demonic energy that he had released form his sword had drained him as well. He heard some more fighting inside, and figured it was Jaken, the little toad demon. The toad could defend himself, with his staff, and the disciplined Lord didn't allow these thoughts to distract him. He raised his one good arm for the kill, and suddenly jerked. 

Blood spurted all over Naraku as Sesshomaru's chest exploded outward, and the demon looked down to see the front half of the Tetsusaiga protruding from his right side. He stared to choke, and had trouble breathing as his lung filled with blood. He fell to his knes as Inuyasha yanked the swod free, and he growled in defiance of the truth: Inuyasha was going to kill him! He could not believe himself so foolish as to rule out the possibilty of a stealthy attack from one of Naraku's many tools, or even from his own brother. He closed his eyes and prepared for the final blow, but the only pain he felt was his face hitting the dirt as he fell unconscious. The only thing that he was aware of was the sound of something crashing behind him, and of Inuyasha screaming in pain, followed by Naraku's evil laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

The first sounds that came to his ears was the sound of Kagome's voice. She appeared to be very angry, and was screaming at someone. Sesshomaru made a guess about the target of her berating as Sintomaru tried to stammer his defence.

"Of course I wasn't going to leave him there! Why would I do that?" He sounded completely false, but seemed to satisfy her. She fell quiet and went away, mumbling to herself about how uncivilized demons were. Sesshomaru resented this, and spoke up.

"Actually, I pride myself in being quite civil, even if it may seem like I'm not to your feeble human eyes." He grunted and tried to force his eyes to open, but the light burned them, and he decided to wait. Sesshomaru then tried to rise, deciding that even without his eyes, he was still a formidable enough opponent to fight, but stopped when a wave of unbearable pain tore through his body. Her froze in place, and had trouble breathing for a minute as the pain subsided.

"Sesshomaru, don't move, or you'll tear the bandages." Kagome told him with what sounded like genuine concern in her voice. He was surprised, and brushed it off as an assumption. She wouldn't care about him: he had tried to kill her on numerous occasions. But she would not understand that he was just trying to clear his way. He paused, and though to himself: _Why am I trying to justify myself? I will simply thank her and be on my way._

He changed his mind when he heard Rin's happy laughter. She sounded so gleeful, something the unfeeling demon lord had been unable to produce from her. Maybe he should keep near to this priestess, for Rin's sake. She needed a suitable companion, and from his past observations, this woman, in her strange clothes, seemed able to go past the surface of things and find a deeper meaning. He almost broke down and laughed at how philosophical he was being. Finally, gritting his fangs, he rose to his feet in a stiff but graceful movement.

All three of them turned in surprise, and Kagome scowled at him. He ignored her, and looked at his larger counterpart. He had last seen his cousin perhaps seventy years ago, and he had barely changed. Sesshomaru could detect great power, hidden from plain view. He remembered when they had fought for the leadership of the Wetsern lands. He had barely won, as the match was almost equal. He had won simply by his determination.

"Well met Sesshomaru, I'm glad to see you well enough to stand." He said this with a smirk, and the demon lord moved to attack him, but grimaced in pain as he felt the ribs and lung not fully healed yet. His demonic powers would regenerate him, but it would take many days. Sintomaru, on the other hand, had the ability to heal on the spot, although it drained his energy and made him tired very quickly.

"I do recall that a certain someone lost a humiliating defeat at the hands of one such as myself, even if that one had been fighting unworthy opponents for three days straight." Sesshomaru smiled inwardly at the look that came across Sin's face. He turned to Kagome then, and spoke quietly, "thank you for the help, even if I have not been kind to you before. I am bound by my honor to repay you, and you must ask something or I am obligated to remain near you in case you think of something for me to help you with..." He broke off his speech at the thought of staying near anyone besides Rin for a long period of time.

"Actually, there is something you can help me with," Kagome said thoughtfully, " I know you want to destroy Naraku. I too wish to hurt someone that has hurt me. I wish to kill Kikyo. You must allow me to travel with you and Rin, and I will try not to slow you down as much as I can." She saw his usually empty eyes deepen with thought, which is the only emotion other than rage she had ever seen there, and took it to be a good sign. She continued, "you wouldn't have to protect me, I had been training under some preistesses before I came to help Inuyasha get the last piece of the Sacred Jewel, which Naraku now has all but one piece. They have taught me alot, and I think I can beat her." She plastered a loook of determination on her face that was solid enough for Sesshomaru to believe her.

"Very well, although I must protect you to a degree. If you die while I am honor-bound to you, then I will have dishonored myself by not helping you complete the task you have set for me." He glanced to the right, and actually smiled as he saw Rin walking towards them from the river.

She smiled and waved when she saw that he was looking at her, and started running. She threw her arms around him in a hug, which he grudgingly allowed her to do, before extracting himself from her small arms and looking at Sintomaru.

He had a hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter, and finally could hold no longer as Sesshomaru stepped towards him threateningly. His outburst made both Kagome and the smaller girl frown, but Rin was the one who spoke next.

"Lord Sessomaru, is this demon really your cousin? He is not like you at all. He's mean to me and Kagome, and he says he will eat me when you aren't looking. That was why Kagome was yelling at him, and because he wanted to leave you behind to die." She glared at him before continuing, "I told him that we were taking you no matter what, and I helped Kagome put some bandages, and she even had some strange medicine that cures infections!" She realized she was rambling and fell silent.

"Thank you Rin. Kagome will be accompanying us to kill Naraku, so now you can have a friend." He turned to Sin before speaking in a lower tone. "If you threaten Rin or Kagome again, I will rip out your throat this time, and you will suffer."

"Fine, but I don't believe that the 'Mighty Sesshomaru' is defending the humans he most hates. You certainly have changed, and not for the better." He muttered, just to cause trouble. He got what he wanted.

Sesshoamru's eyes flared red and his one fist came out, faster than thier eyes could see, but it came to an abrupt stop as Sin merely caught it in his own hand. They stood there at a standoff, until they noticed that Rin and the young miko had left.

"Watch your back, Sesshomaru!" Was all that Sintomaru would say, and he leapt away through the trees. Sesshomaru simply shrugged and sat down, resting his injury and leaning against a tree, thinking about his promise to the priestess.

* * *

The red clothed half demon cried out in pain as Kikyo pushed his bones back into place. _Damn it! Who was that big guy with the mace? He was brutal, and he looked like Sesshomaru._ Inuyasha tried to think of something else as his lover twisted his elbow back to the right position. The blow from the mace had been out of nowhere, and it had broken all of the bones on his right side. His elbow had been twised almost one-eighty degrees, and the bones in his forearm had been pushed apart and split out of his skin. He had not fallen unconscious, unfortunately for him as he screamed again when she started to heal his body. The purifying power could not kill him, because he was half human, but it burned like nothing he had ever felt. 

Fianally, Kikyo whispered to him, a single tear falling from her creamy cheek,"There my love, I have sped the healing process along several weeks." She kissed him lightly on the lips and left him there as he began to snore, turning sometimes to adjust his injured side.

Kikyo left the cave that she had called home for almost a year now, and traversed a path through the mountains to where Naraku's new palace was. Opening the door, she strode unafraid through a small army of guards, until she came to his private chambers. The castle interior was dark, and the wood was rotting, although the castle had only been here for a few days. The poisonous miasma seemed to have that effect on everything it touched, draining the life out of every living thing. She pushed open the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall, and walked right up to Naraku.

"Naraku, I wish for the wench, Kagome, to die. She is weak, and I do not like that. Destroy her, and I shall make the jewel whole for you." She waited for his response.

"Ahhh, Kikyo, you would do such a petty thing as to have your fellow priestess removed from your way because of Inuyasha? Very well, I shall remove her then." He smiled, and spoke once more, saying, "I would appreciate the help, though. Maybe you should lead her into trap and simple kill her with your mighty bow. That would be much easier, but I will donate some assistance from my demons as well, if you think you need help. After all, she's only a girl."

His words were worded perfectly to get the response he wanted. "I guess I will kill her myself." She turned and retreated from the castle, the poisonous gases parting before her without coming into contact with her body. She returned to her cave, and sat down on the hard ground to meditate.


End file.
